Bill Belichick doesn’t like the NFL telling him what to do, right down to the jerseys his players wear in practice. Two years ago, the NFL ordered Belichick to stop having players practice in numberless jerseys, as he had been doing in Organized Team Activities. So now Belichick has players wearing numbers in OTAs. But [more]

The Patriots and Rob Gronkowski are nearing a reworked contract, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reports. Howe adds it is unknown whether the All-Pro tight end will sign an extension or simply earn a raise. The sides have worked toward a renegotiated deal since last month when Gronkowski committed to playing this season. Gronkowski is [more]

Stunning as it may be, the decision of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady to stay away from Organized Team Activities isn’t really surprising. But the specific reason for his absence still isn’t known. There could be several. Regardless, he’s not present for the critical third phase of the offseason program, which as Brady himself said five [more]

Bill Belichick might not be talking about the guys who aren’t at OTAs, but his boss is. Patriots owner Robert Kraft told a group of reporters at the owners meeting in Atlanta this morning that he had spoken with Tom Brady, and that his quarterback was looking forward to showing up for minicamp (which is [more]

Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn’t spend any time talking about Tom Brady on Tuesday, saying he’d only talk about players that are attending the team’s offseason workouts. That group includes Brian Hoyer, who stepped into the role with the first team since rookie Danny Etling is the only other quarterback with the team right [more]

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked today to talk about Tom Brady, but he wouldn’t. Brady is absent from the Patriots’ Organized Team Activities, and when Belichick was asked about that, he quickly shut it down. “I’m not going to talk about the people who aren’t here. The guys who are here are improving, working [more]

The sort-of-expected-but-still-jarring absence of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady‘s from Phase 3 of the offseason program has prompted two very different reactions. The crowd who actually thinks “voluntary” workouts are voluntary resent the implicit pressure on Brady or any player for skipping the sessions, under the warped logic that because the workouts aren’t labeled “mandatory,” they’re [more]

The Patriots announced two additions to Bill Belichick’s coaching staff, naming Cameron Achord an assistant special teams coach and Atif Austin a coaching assistant. Achord most recently served as interim head coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College. He played safety at Belhaven University, beginning his coaching career in 2009 as a special teams graduate assistant [more]

Inspired by the Vegas Golden Knights making it to the Stanley Cup Final in their first year of existence, Monday’s PFT Live included a draft based on what the Knights have accomplished: An unlikely berth in their sport’s championship game. So which were the most unlikely Super Bowl participants in NFL history? Chris Simms and [more]

The Lions claimed rookie receiver Chris Lacy off waivers from the Patriots, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports. Lacy, 22, signed with the Patriots as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma State on May 11. He caught 63 passes for 920 yards and five touchdowns in 32 college games. Lacy also returned six [more]

With Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, it’s fairly clear that something is bothering him. It’s still not clear what it is, or how it will affect his preparations for 2018. With Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski, there’s less mystery. And while he may not be present for Organized Team Activities as of Monday, a source with [more]

The next phase of the Patriots’ Organized Team Activities begin today, and Tom Brady is not present. Brady, who has been working out on his own all offseason, remains away as on-field football activities begin at OTAs today, according to multiple reports. That’s not a great sign of harmony in New England. Although OTAs are [more]

With Phase 3 of the offseason program soon to begin in most NFL cities, the chances of a player injury will increase. Of course, the injury risk already was there during the less intense portions of the program. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com reports that Patriots defensive end Adrian Clayborn “tweaked” a quadriceps muscle during offseason [more]

Membership in the group that calls itself the @PFTPMPosse carries with it an important obligation. Via the questions posed for every episode of the #PFTPM podcast, the ever-growing group of loyal supporters introduces concepts and ideas that probably wouldn’t have otherwise entered my relaxed brain. Here’s a great question that emerged in the aftermath of [more]

The Patriots have brought back Jason King, re-signing the offensive lineman Friday, Mike Reiss of ESPN reports. New England waived rookie receiver Chris Lacy. King has had multiple stints with the Patriots. The team most recently cut him May 10 after he had signed a futures contract with New England on February 6. King, 24, [more]